Amitriptyline-Chlordiazepoxide Explained

Amitriptyline-Chlordiazepoxide

Pronounced

"A-mi-TRIP-ti-leen/KLOR-dye-AZ-e-POX-ide"

Drug Interactions

See also Warning section.

Drug interactions may change how your medications work or increase your risk for serious side effects. This document does not contain all possible drug interactions. Keep a list of all the products you use (including prescription/nonprescription drugs and herbal products) and share it with your doctor and pharmacist. Do not start, stop, or change the dosage of any medicines without your doctor's approval.

Some products that may interact with this product are: other drugs that can cause bleeding/bruising (including antiplatelet drugs such as clopidogrel, NSAIDs such as ibuprofen/naproxen, "blood thinners" such as dabigatran/warfarin), certain drugs for high blood pressure (drugs that work in the brain such as clonidine, guanabenz), clozapine, thyroid supplements.

Taking MAO inhibitors with this medication may cause a serious (possibly fatal) drug interaction. Avoid taking MAO inhibitors (isocarboxazid, linezolid, metaxalone, methylene blue, moclobemide, phenelzine, procarbazine, rasagiline, safinamide, selegiline, tranylcypromine) during treatment with this medication. Most MAO inhibitors should also not be taken for two weeks before and after treatment with this medication. Ask your doctor when to start or stop taking this medication.

Other medications can affect the removal of amitriptyline and chlordiazepoxide from your body, thereby affecting how amitriptyline/chlordiazepoxide works. These drugs include cimetidine, disulfiram, drugs to treat irregular heart rate (such as quinidine/propafenone/flecainide), antidepressants (such as SSRIs like citalopram/fluvoxamine/paroxetine/sertraline). This is not a complete list.

Many drugs besides amitriptyline may affect the heart rhythm (QT prolongation in the EKG), including amiodarone, dofetilide, pimozide, procainamide, quinidine, sotalol, macrolide antibiotics (such as erythromycin), among others. Before using amitriptyline/chlordiazepoxide, report all medications you are currently using to your doctor or pharmacist.

Cigarette smoking decreases blood levels of chlordiazepoxide. Tell your doctor if you smoke or if you have recently stopped smoking.

The risk of serious side effects (such as slow/shallow breathing, severe drowsiness/dizziness) may be increased if this medication is taken with other products that may also cause drowsiness or breathing problems. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking other products such as opioid pain or cough relievers (such as codeine, hydrocodone), alcohol, marijuana (cannabis), drugs for sleep or anxiety (such as alprazolam, lorazepam, zolpidem), muscle relaxants (such as carisoprodol, cyclobenzaprine), or antihistamines (such as cetirizine, diphenhydramine).

Check the labels on all your medicines (such as allergy or cough-and-cold products) because they may contain ingredients that cause drowsiness. Ask your pharmacist about using those products safely.

Aspirin can increase the risk of bleeding when used with this medication. However, if your doctor has directed you to take low-dose aspirin for heart attack or stroke prevention (usually 81-162 milligrams a day), you should continue taking it unless your doctor instructs you otherwise. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more details.

Amitriptyline is very similar to nortriptyline. Do not use medications containing nortriptyline while using amitriptyline.

Negative Interactions
4
- Chlordiazepoxide
  Kava
  Potential Negative Interaction
  Kava (Piper methysticum) is an herb used to treat anxiety disorder. One individual who took a benzodiazepine (alprazolam) and kava together, along with two other medications (cimetidine and terazosin) was hospitalized in a lethargic and disoriented condition. Further research is needed to determine whether the combination of kava and benzodiazepines produces an adverse interaction. However, individuals should not take benzodiazepines and kava together unless supervised by a doctor.
- Amitriptyline
  St. John’s Wort
  Potential Negative Interaction
  Preliminary research has suggested that St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) may reduce blood levels of the tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline. This may have occurred because certain chemicals found in St. John’s wort activate liver enzymes that are involved in the elimination of some drugs. Until more is known, people taking tricyclic antidepressants should avoid St. John’s wort.
  St. John’s Wort
  Amitriptyline
  ×
  1. Mai I, Schmider J, et al. Unpublished results, May, 1999. Reported in: Johne A, Brockmöller, Bauer S, et al. Pharmacokinetic interaction of digoxin with an herbal extract from St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum). Clin Pharmacol Ther 1999;66:338-45.
  2. Nebel A, Schneider BJ, Baker RK, Kroll DJ. Potential metabolic interaction between St. John's wortand theophylline [letter]. Ann Pharmacother 1999;33:502.
- Chlordiazepoxide
  St. John’s Wort
  Potential Negative Interaction
  In a study of healthy volunteers, administration of St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) along with alprazolam decreased blood levels of alprazolam, compared with the levels when alprazolam was taken by itself.3 Individuals taking alprazolam should not take St. John's wort without supervision by a doctor.
- Amitriptyline
  Black Tea
  Reduces Effectiveness
  Brewed black tea (Camellia sinensis) has been reported to cause precipitation of amitriptyline and imipramine in a test tube. If this reaction occurred in the body, it could decrease absorption of these drugs. Until more is known, it makes sense to sePte ingestion of tea and tricyclic antidepressants by at least two hours.
  Black Tea
  Amitriptyline
  ×
  1. Lasswell WL Jr, Weber SS, Wilkins JM. In vitro interaction of neuroleptics and tricyclic antidepressants with coffee, tea, and gallotannic acid. J Pharm Sci 1984;73:1056-8.
Supportive Interactions
4
- Amitriptyline
  Coenzyme Q10
  Replenish Depleted Nutrients
  A number of tricyclic antidepressants have been shown to inhibit enzymes that require coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), a nutrient that is needed for normal heart function. In addition, treatment with amitriptyline has been associated with a reduction in CoQ10 levels. It is therefore possible that CoQ10 deficiency may be a contributing factor to the cardiac side effects that sometimes occur with tricyclic antidepressants. Some practitioners advise patients taking tricyclic antidepressants to supplement with 30–100 mg of CoQ10 per day.
  Coenzyme Q10
  Amitriptyline
  ×
  1. Kishi T, Makino K, Okamoto T, Kishi H, Folkers K. Inhibition of myocardial respiration by psychotherapeutic drugs and prevention by coenzymeQ. In Y Yamamura, K Folkers, Y Ito, eds. Biomedical and Clinical Aspects of Coenzyme Q, Vol. 2. Amsterdam: Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press,1980:139-54.
  2. Moreno-Fernandez AM, Cordero MD, Garrido-Maraver J, et al. Oral treatment with amitriptyline induces coenzyme Q deficiency and oxidative stress in psychiatric patients. J Psychiatr Res 2012;46:341-5.
- Amitriptyline
  L-Tryptophan and Vitamin B3
  Support Medicine
  Combination of 6 grams per day L-tryptophan and 1,500 mg per day niacinamide (a form of vitamin B3) with imipramine has shown to be more effective than imipramine alone for people with bipolar disorder. These levels did not improve the effects of imipramine in people with depression. Lower amounts (4 grams per day of L-tryptophan and 1,000 mg per day of niacinamide) did show some tendency to enhance the effect of imipramine.
  The importance of the amount of L-tryptophan was confirmed in other studies, suggesting that if too much L-tryptophan (6 grams per day) is used, it is not beneficial, while levels around 4 grams per day may make tricyclic antidepressants work better.
  L-Tryptophan and Vitamin B3
  Amitriptyline
  ×
  1. Chouinard G, Young SN, Annable L, Sourkes TL. Tryptophan-nicotinamide, imipramine and their combination in depression. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1979;59:395-414.
  2. Walinder J, Skott A, Carlsson A, et al. Potentiation of the antidepressant action of clomipramine by tryptophan. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1976;33:1384-9.
  3. Shaw DM, MacSweeney DA, Hewland R, Johnson AL. Tricyclic antidepressants and tryptophan in unipolar depression. Psychol Med 1975;5:276-8.
- Chlordiazepoxide
  Vinpocetine
  Support Medicine
  In a preliminary trial, an extract of periwinkle called vinpocetine was shown to produce minor improvements in short-term memory among people taking flunitrazepam, a benzodiazepine. Further study is needed to determine if vinpocetine would be a helpful adjunct to use of benzodiazepines.
  Vinpocetine
  Chlordiazepoxide
  ×
  1. Bhatti JZ, Hindmarch I. Vinpocetine effects on cognitive impairments produced by flunitrazepam. Int Clin Psychopharmacol 1987;2:325-31.
- Amitriptyline
  Vitamin B1, B2, and B6
  Support Medicine
  Giving 10 mg per day each of vitamins B1, B2, and B6 to elderly, depressed persons already on tricyclic antidepressants improved their depression and ability to think more than placebo did. The subjects in this study were institutionalized, so it is unclear if these results apply to persons living at home.
  Vitamin B1, B2, and B6
  Amitriptyline
  ×
  1. Bell IR, Edman JS, Morrow FD, et al. Brief communication: Vitamin B1, B2, and B6 augmentation of tricyclic antidepressant treatment in geriatric depression with cognitive dysfunction. J Am Coll Nutr 1992;11:159-63.
Explanation Required
1
- Amitriptyline
  SAMe
  Needs Explanation
  SAMe may improve the clinical response to imipramine (Tofranil®). In a double-blind trial, depressive symptoms decreased earlier in the people who received SAMe injections (200 mg per day) in combination with imipramine than in those who received imipramine with placebo injections. Oral supplementation with SAMe has demonstrated antidepressant activity, independent of its combination with imipramine.
  SAMe
  Amitriptyline
  ×
  1. Berlanga C, Ortega-Soto HA, Ontiveros M, Senties H. Efficacy of S-adenosyl-L-methionine in speeding the onset of action of imipramine. Psychiatry Res 1992;44:257-62.
  2. Bressa GM. S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAMe) as antidepressant: Meta-analysis of clinical studies. Acta Neurol Scand 1994;154(suppl):7-14.

Amitriptyline Chlordiazepoxide

Drug